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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 














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AMERICAN 
GRAPE TRAINING 



An account of the leading 
forms now in use of Train- 
ing the American Grapes. 



^^ 




<By Lr H^- 'BAILEY, 




Ma- 

New York: & ^J * * 

The Rural Publishing Compann 
1893- 



~Bj> the same Author, 



Annals Of Horticulture in North America 
for the year 1889. A witness of passing events 
and a record of progress. 249 pages, 52 illus- 
trations. 

Annals for 1890. 312 pages, 82 illustrations. 

Annals for 1891. 416 pages, 77 illustrations. 

Annals for 1892. 

***A new volume is issued each year, each 
complete in itself. Cloth, $1; paper, 60 cents. 

The Horticulturist's Rule-Book. A com- 
pendium of useful information for fruit-growers, 
truck-gardeners, florists and others. Second 
edition, revised to the opening of 1892. 221 
pages. Cloth, $1 ; paper, 50 cents. 

The Nursery Book. A complete guide to 
the multiplication and pollination of plants 
304pa^es, 106 illustrations. Cloth, $1; paper, 50c. 

Cross-Breeding and Hybridizing. With a 
brief bibliography of the subject. 44 pages. 
Paper, 40 cents. (Rural Library Series.) 

Field Notes on Apple Culture. 90 pages, 
19 illustrations. Cloth, 75 cents. 

Talks Afield : About plants and the science 
of plants. 173 pages, 100 illustrations. Cloth, $1. 



^t 

^ 



COPYRIGHTED 1893, 
BY L H. BAILEY. 



ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY 
J. HORACE M'FARLAND CO., HARRISBURG, PA. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Pages 
Introduction 9-11 

Pruning 11-24 

CHAPTER II. 

Preliminary Preparations for Training — The Trellis — 

Tying 25-33 

CHAPTER III. 

The Upright Systems. (Horizontal Arm Spur System. 

High Renewal. Fan Training) 34~55 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Drooping Systems. (True or Four-Cane Kniffin. 
Modifications of the Four-Cane Kniffin. The Two- 
Cane Kniffin or Umbrella System. The Low or 
One-Wire Kniffin. The Six-Cane Kniffin. Over- 
head, or Arbor Kniffin. The Cross-Wire System. 
Renewal Kniffin. The Munson System) 56-82 

CHAPTER V. 

Miscellaneous Systems. (Horizontal Training. Post 

Training. Arbors. Remodeling Old Vines) . . . 83-92 




ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

1 . Grape Shoot 12 

2. The Bearing Wood 13 

3. Diagram 15 

4. Spur 18 

5. Renewal Pruning 19 

6. A Newly Set Vineyard 21 

7. Horizontal Arm Spur Training 35 

8. Horizontal Arm (Diagram) 36 

9. Short Arm Spur Training 38 

10. The Second Season of Upright Training 40 

11. Making the T-Head 42 

12. The Third Season of High Renewal 43 

13. High Renewal, before Pruning 44 

14. High Renewal, Pruned 45 

15. High Renewal, Pruned and Tied 46 

16. High Renewal with Four Canes 47 

1 7. High Renewal Complete 48 

18. A Slat Trellis, with Upright Training 51 

19. Fan Training, after Pruning 55 

20. William Kniffin 57 

21. The True Kniffin Training 59 

22. No. 21 , when Pruned 60 

23. A Poor Type of Kniffin 64 

24. The Y-Trunk Kniffin 65 

25. Umbrella Training 67 

26. A Poor Umbrella System 68 

27. Eight-Cane Kniffin (Diagram) 70 

28. Overhead Kniffin 71 

29. Overhead Kniffin 72 

30. Overhead Kniffin, before Pruning 73 

31. Cross-Wire Training 75 

32. Cross-Wire Training, Outside View 76 

33. Munson Training. End View 78 

34. Munson Training. Side View 79 

35- Horizontal Training 83 

36. Low Post Training 86 

37. A Yearling Graft 91 



PREFACE. 



THIS LITTLE book has grown out of an attempt to 
teach the principles and methods of grape training 
to college students. I have found such teaching 
to be exceedingly difficult and unsatisfactory. It is im- 
possible to firmly impress the lessons by mere lectures. 
The student must apprehend the principles slowly and by 
his own effort. He must have time to thoroughly as- 
similate them before he attempts to apply them. I there- 
fore cast about for books which I could put before my 
class, but I at once found that there are very few succinct 
accounts of the subjects of grape pruning and training, 
and that none of our books portray the methods which 
are most largely practised in the large grape regions of 
the east. My only recourse, therefore, was to put my 
own notes into shape for print, and this I have now done. 
And inasmuch as all grape-growers are students, I hope 
that the simple account will find a use beyond the class- 
room. 

This lack of adequate accounts of grape training at 
first astonished me, but is not strange after all. It must 
be remembered that the cultivation of the native grape is 
of very recent origin. There are many men who can 
remember its beginning in a commercial way. It seldom 
occurs to the younger generation, which is familiar with 



6 Preface . 

the great vineyards in many states, that the Concord is 
yet scarcely forty years old, and that all grape growing in 
eastern America is yet in an experimental stage. Pro- 
gress has been so rapid in recent years that the new 
methods outstrip the books. The old horizontal arm 
spur system, which is still the chief method in the books, 
has evolved itself into a high renewal training, which is 
widely used but which has not found its way into the 
manuals. The Kniffin type has outgrown its long period 
of incubation, and is now taking an assured place in vine- 
yard management. So two great types, opposed in method, 
are now contending for supremacy, and they will probably 
form the basis of all future developments. This evolution 
of American grape training is one of the most unique and 
signal developments of our modern horticulture, and its 
very recent departure from the early doubts and trials is 
a fresh illustration of the youth and virility of all hor- 
ticultural pursuits in North America. 

This development of our grape training should form the 
subject of a historical inquiry. I have not attempted 
such in this little hand-book. I have omitted all reference 
to the many early methods, which were in most cases 
transportations or modifications of European practices, 
for their value is now chiefly historical and their insertion 
here would only confuse the reader. I have attempted 
nothing more than a plain account of the methods now in 
use ; in fact, I am aware that I have not accomplished 
even this much, for there are various methods which I 
have not mentioned. But these omitted forms are mostly 
of local use or adaptation, and they are usually only modi- 
fications of the main types here explained. It is impossible 
to describe all the variations in grape training in a book 
of pocket size ; neither is it necessary. Nearly every 



Preface. 7 

grower who has given grape raising careful attention has 
introduced into his own vineyard some modifications 
which he thinks are of special value to him. There are 
various curious and instructive old books to which the 
reader can go if he desires to know the history and evo- 
lution of grape training in America. He will find that we 
have now passed through the long and costly experiment 
with European systems. And we have also outgrown the 
gross or long-wood styles, and now prune close with the 
expectation of obtaining superior and definite results. 

I have not attempted to rely upon my own resources in 
the preparation of this book. All the manuscript has been 
read by three persons — by George C. Snow, Penn Yan, 
N. Y., William D. Barns, Middle Hope, N. Y., and L. 
C. Corbett, my assistant in the Cornell Experiment 
Station. Mr. Snow is a grower in the lake region of 
western New York, and employs the High Renewal system; 
Mr. Barns is a grower in the Hudson River valley, and 
practices the Knifrm system ; while Mr. Corbett has been 
a student of ail the systems and has practiced two or 
three of them in commercial plantations. These persons 
have made many suggestions of which I have been glad 
to avail myself, and to them very much of the value of 
the book is to be attributed. 

L. H. BAILEY, 

Ithaca, N. Y., Feb. i, i8gj. 



JOHN ADLUM, of the District of Columbia, appears to have been 
the first person to systematically undertake the cultivation 
and amelioration of the native grapes. His method of train- 
ing, as described in 1823, is as follows : One shoot is allowed to 
grow the first year, and this is cut back to two buds the first fall. 
The second year two shoots are allowed to grow, and they are tied 
to "two stakes fixed down to the side of each plant, about five or 
six feet high ;" in the fall each cane is cut back to three or four 
buds. In the third spring, these two short canes are spread apart 
" so as to make an angle of about forty-five degress with the stem," 
and are tied to stakes ; this season about two shoots are allowed 
to grow from each branch, making four in all, and in the fall the 
outside ones are cut back to three or four buds and the inner ones 
to two. These outside shoots are to bear the fruit the fourth year, 
and the inside ones give rise to renewal canes. These two outer 
canes or branches are secured to two stakes set about sixteen inches 
upon either side of the vine, and the shoots are tied up to the 
stakes, as they grow. The renewal shoots from the inside stubs 
are tied to a third stake set near the root of the vine. The outside 
branches are to be cut away entirely at the end of the fourth year. 
This is an ingenious renewal post system, and it is easy to see 
how the Horizontal Arm and High Renewal systems may have 
sprung from it. 



AMERICAN GRAPE TRAINING. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION PRUNING. 



Pruning and training the grape are perplexed 
questions, even to those who have spent a life- 
time in grape growing. The perplexity arises from 
several diverse sources, as the early effort to trans- 
plant European methods, the fact that many sys- 
tems present almost equally good results for par- 
ticular purposes and varieties, and the failure to 
comprehend the fundamental principles of the 
operations. 

It is sufficient condemnation of European meth- 
ods when applied in eastern America, to say that 
the American grapes are distinct species from the 
European grapes, and that they are consequently 
different in habit. This fact does not appear to have 
been apprehended clearly by the early American 
grape-growers, even after the native varieties had 
begun to gain prominence. American viticulture, 
aside from that upon the Pacific slope which is 
concerned with the European grape, is an industry 
of very recent development. It was little more 

(9) 



io American Grape Training, 



<5 ' 



than a century ago that the first American variety 
gained favor, and so late as 1823 that the first 
definite attempt was made, in Adlum's "Memoir 
on the Cultivation of the Vine in America, " to re- 
cord the merits of native grapes for purposes of 
cultivation. Even Adlum's book was largely given 
to a discussion of European varieties and prac- 
tices. In 1846 "Thomas' Fruit Culturist" men- 
tioned only six "American hardy varieties," and 
all of these, save the Catawba, are practically not 
in cultivation at the present time. The Concord 
appeared in 1853. American grape training is, 
therefore, a very recent development, and we are 
only now outgrowing the influence of the practices 
early imported from Europe. The first decided 
epoch in the evolution of our grape training was 
the appearance of Fuller's "Grape Culturist," in 
1864; for while the system which he depicted and 
which yet often bears his name, was but a modifi- 
cation of some European methods and had been 
outlined by earlier American writers, it was at that 
time placed clearly and cogently before the public 
and became an accepted practice. The funda- 
mental principles of pruning are alike for both 
European and American grapes, but the details of 
pruning and training must be greatly modified for 
different species. We must understand at the out- 
set that American species of grapes demand an 
American system of treatment. 

The great diversity of opinion which exists 



Pruning. 1 1 

amongst the best grape growers concerning the ad- 
vantages of different systems of training is proof 
that many systems have merit, and that no one 
system is better than others for all purposes. The 
grower must recognize the fact that the most im- 
portant factor in determining the merits of any 
system of training is the habit of the vine — as its 
vigor, rate of growth, normal size, relative size and 
abundance of leaves, and season and character of 
fruit. Nearly every variety differs from others in 
habit in some particular, and it therefore requires 
different treatment in some important detail. Varie- 
ties may thrive equally well upon the same general 
system of training, but require minor modifications; 
so it comes that no hard and fast lines can be laid 
down, either for any system or any variety. One sys- 
tem differs from another in some one main principle 
or idea, but the modifications of all may meet and 
blend. If two men practice the Kniffin system, 
therefore, this fact does not indicate that they 
prune and train their vines exactly alike. It is im- 
possible to construct rules. for grape training; it is, 
therefore, important that we understand thoroughly 
the philosophy of pruning and training, both in 
general and in the different systems which are now 
most popular. These points we shall now con- 
sider. 

PRUNING. 

Pruning and training are terms which are often 
confounded when speaking of the grape, but they 



12 



A m erica n Grape Tra i?i ing. 



represent distinct operations. Pruning refers to 
such removal of branches as shall insure better and 
larger fruit upon the remaining portions. Train- 
ing refers to the disposition of the different parts 
of the vine. It is true that different methods of 
training demand different styles of pruning, but the 
modification in pruning is only such as shall adapt 
it to the external shape and size of the vine, and 
does not in any way affect the principle upon which 
it rests. Pruning is a necessity, and, in essence, 

there is but one 
method; training 
is largely a conven- 
ience, and there 
are as many meth- 
ods as there 
are fan- 
cies among 
grape grow- 
ers. 

All intelli- 




gent 
iner 



prun- 
of the 



growth , 



rape rests upon the fact 
that the fruit is borne in a 
few clusters near the base of 
the growing shoots of the 
) season, and which spring 
from wood of last year' s 
It may be said here that a growing, leafy 



I. GKAPE SHOOT. 



Pruning. 



13 



branch of the grape vine is called a. shoot ; a ripened 
shoot is called a cane ; a branch or trunk two or 
more years old is called an arm. Fig. 1 is a 
shoot as it appears in the northern states in June. 
The whole shoot has grown within a month, from 
a bud. As it grew, flower clusters appeared and 
these are to bear the grapes. Flowering is now 




2. THE BEARING WOOD. 



over, but the shoot will continue to grow, perhaps 
to the length of ten or twenty feet. At picking 
time, therefore, the grapes all hang near the lower 
end or base of the shoots or new canes, as in fig. 2. 
Each bud upon the old cane, therefore, produces a 



14 American Ga?'pe Training. 

new cane, which may bear fruit as well as leaves. 
At the close of the season, this long ripened shoot 
or cane has produced a bud every foot or less, from 
which new fruit-bearing shoots are to spring next 
year. But if all these buds were allowed to re- 
main, the vine would be overtaxed with fruit the 
coming year and the crop would be a failure. The 
cane is, therefore, cut off until it bears only as many 
buds as experience has taught us the vine should 
carry. The cane may be cut back to five or ten 
buds, and perhaps some of these buds will be re- 
moved, or "rubbed off," next spring if the young 
growth seems to be too thick, or if the plant is 
weak. Each shoot will bear, on an average, two 
or three clusters. Some shoots will bear no clus- 
ters. From one to six of the old canes, each bear- 
ing from five to ten buds, are left each spring. 
The number of clusters which a vine can carry 
well depends upon the variety, the age and size of 
the vine, the style of the training, and the soil and 
cultivation. Experience is the only guide. A 
strong vine of Concord, which is a prolific, variety, 
trained upon any of the ordinary systems and set 
nine or ten feet apart each way, will usually carry 
from thirty to sixty clusters. The clusters will 
weigh from a fourth to a half pound each. Twelve 
or fifteen pounds of marketable grapes is a fair or 
average crop for such a Concord vine, and twenty- 
five pounds is a very heavy crop. 

The pruning of the grape vine, therefore, is 



Pruning. 



15 



essentially a thinning process. In the winter prun- 
ing, all the canes of the last season's growth are cut 
away except from two to six, which are left to make 
the fruit and wood of the next year ; and each of 
these remaining canes is headed back to from three 
to ten buds. The number and length of the canes 
which are left after the pruning depend upon the 
style of training which is practiced. A vine which 



Bio B9B8B7B6 B5 B4 B3B2B1C 



DA1A2A3 A4A5 A6A7A8A9A10 




3. DIAGR • M. 

may completely cover a trellis in the fall, will be 
cut back so severely that a novice will fear that the 
plant is ruined. But the operator bears in mind 
the fact that the grape, unlike the apple, pear and 
peach, does not bear distinct fruit-buds in the fall, 
but buds which produce both fruit and wood the 
following season. 

Let us now suppose, therefore, that we have 
pruned our vine in the fall of 1891 to two canes, 



1 6 American Grape Training. 

each bearing ten buds. We will call these canes 
A and B, respectively. (Fig. 3.) In 1892, there- 
fore, twenty shoots grow from them, and each of 
these shoots or new canes branches, or produces 
laterals. We will call these new canes of 1892, 
A 1, A 2, A3, B 1, B 2, and so on. Each of the 
new canes bears at the base about two clusters of 
grapes, giving a total yield of about forty clusters. 
These clusters stand opposite the leaves, as seen 
in fig. 1. In the axil of each leaf a bud is formed 
which will produce a cane, and perhaps fruit, in 
1893. If each of these new canes, A 1, A 2, etc., 
produce ten buds — which is a moderate number — 
the vine would go into the winter of 1892-3 with 
200 buds for the next year's growth and crop; but 
these buds should be reduced to about twenty, as 
they were in the fall of 1891. That is, every year 
we go back again to the same number of buds, and 
the top of the vine gets no larger from year to year. 
We must, therefore, cut back again to two canes. 
We cut back each of the original canes, A and B, 
to one new cane. That is, we leave only A 1 and B 1 , 
cutting off A^, A3, etc., and B 2, B 3, etc. This 
brings the vine back to very nearly its condition in 
the fall of 1891; but the new canes, A 1 and B 1, 
which are now to become the main canes by being 
bent down horizontally, were borne at some dis- 
tance — say three or four inches — from the base of 
the original canes, A and B, so that the permanent 
part of the vine is constantly lengthening itself. 



Pruning. i y 

This annually lengthening portion is called a spur. 
Spurs are rarely or never made in this exact posi- 
tion, however, although this diagrammatic sketch 
illustrates clearly the method of their formation. 
The common method of spurring is that connected 
with the horizontal arm system of training, in which 
the canes A and B are allowed to become perma- 
nent arms, and the upright canes, A i, A 2, B 1, B 2, 
B3, etc., are cut back to within two or three buds 
of the arms each year. The cane A 1, for in- 
stance, is cut back in the fall of 1892 to two or 
three buds, and in 1893 two or three canes will 
grow from this stub. In the fall of 1893 only one 
cane is left after the pruning, and this one is cut 
back to two or three buds ; and so on. So the spur 
grows higher every year, although every effort is 
made to keep it short, both by reducing the num- 
ber of buds to one or two and by endeavoring to 
bring out a cane lower down on the spur every few 
years. Fig. 4 shows a short spur of two years' 
standing. The horizontal portion shows the per- 
manent arm. The first upright portion is the re- 
mains of the first-year cane and the upper portion 
is the second-year cane after it is cut back in the 
fall. In this instance, the cane is cut back to one 
fruiting bud, b, the small buds, a a, being rubbed 
out. There are serious objections to spurs in any 
position. They become hard and comparatively 
lifeless after a time, it is often difficult to replace 
them by healthy fresh wood, and the bearing por- 



American Grape Training. 



tion of the vine is constantly receding from the 
main trunk. The bearing wood should spring from 
near the central portions of the vine, or be kept 
" near the head," as the grape-growers say. In 
order to do this, it is customary to allow two canes 
to grow out each year back of the canes A i and B i , 
or from the head of the vine ; these canes may be 

designated C and D. (Fig. 
3.) These canes, C and D, 
are grown during 1892 — 
when they may bear fruit 
like other canes — for the 
sole purpose of forming the 
basis of the bearing top in 
1893, while all the old top, 
A and B, with the second- 
ary canes, A 1, A 2, B 1, 
B 2, B 3, etc. , is cut entirely 
awav. Here, then, are two 
distinct methods of forming the bearing top for the 
succeeding year : either from spurs, which are the 
remains of the previous top ; or from renewals, 
which are taken each year from the old wood near 
the head of the vine, or even from the ground. Re- 
newals from the ground are now little used, how- 
ever, for they seldom give a sufficient crop unless 
they are headed in the first fall and are allowed to 
bear the second year. It should be borne in mind 
that the spur and renewal methods refer entirely to 
pruning, not to training, for either one can be used 




Pru 






in any system of train:: _. 5 ir pruning, how- 
eve: g savoi amongst commercial 
grape-growers, and the renev more .or 
. in all - ms of tr: 
Fig. 5 il . . . 
graving shows the head of a v. 

and upon which two canes are allowed to remain 
after each annual prunin^ 7 c v r: : 




from b to f and d is the 

base of the beari: lg e of 

: : In : :er of 

this ca fl 

::d the new ca:. 
\ wood ■: : 18 ] Another c 
but it was too weak to leave for :: It was 

therefore, cutaway. The . . ' .be 

cut awav a year hen: 

the meantime, i renewal ca:: have grown 

from the stub - left : : r :hat purv ase, 

the old ca: e cut or. be- 

tween € and /. In this way. the 
kep to the head of the vine. The i a 



20 Amcricafi Grape Training. 

shows where an old stub was cut away this winter, 
1892-3, while b shows where one was cut off the 
previous winter. A scar upon the back of the 
head, which does not show in the illustration, 
marks the spot where a stub was cut away two 
years ago, in the winter of 1 890-1. This method 
of pruning can be kept up almost indefinitely, and 
if care is exercised in keeping the stubs short, the 
head will not enlarge out of proportion to the 
growth of the stock or trunk. 

Pruning Young Vines. — The time required after 
planting to get the vine onto the wires or trellis 
varies with the strength of the vine when set, the 
variety, the soil and cultivation, and the system of 
training; but, as a rule, the training begins the 
second or third year, previous to which time the 
vine is pruned, not trained. Two-year-old vines 
are most popular for planting, although in the 
strong varieties, like Concord and Niagara, well- 
grown yearling vines are probably as good, if not 
better. The strong-growing kinds are commonly 
set from eight to ten feet apart in the row, and the 
rows eight or nine feet apart. Delawares and 
other small vines may be set closer, although eight 
feet is preferable. When set, the vine is cut back 
to two or three buds. During the first year, the 
voung canes are usually allowed to lie upon the 
ground at will, as seen in fig. 6. In the fall or 
winter, all the canes but one are cut off, and this 
one is cut back to two or three buds. The vine is, 



Pruning. 



21 



therefore, no larger at the expiration of a year's 
growth than it was when planted ; but in the mean- 
time the plant has become thoroughly established 
the soil, and the second year's growth 



in 



should be strong enough to form the basis for the 




6. A NEWLY SEt VINEYARD. 

permanent trunk or arm. If. however, the second 
year's growth is weak, it may be cut back as before, 
and the third season's growth used for the trunk. 
On the other hand, the growth of the first year is 
sometimes carried onto the wires to form the per- 
manent trunk and arms, but it is only with extra 
strong vines in good soil that this practice is ad- 



22 American Grape Training. 

missible. From this point, the treatment of the 
vine is discussed under training. 

When to Prune. — Grape vines may be pruned at 
any time during the winter. It is the practice 
among most grape-growers in the north to prune 
as time permits from November to late in February, 
or even early March. The sap flows very freely 
from cuts made in spring and early summer, caus- 
ing the phenomenon known as "•bleeding," or in 
Europe as "weeping," and in order to prevent 
this loss, pruning is stopped six weeks or more be- 
fore the time at which the buds usually swell. It 
is yet a moot point if this bleeding injures the vine, 
but it is a safe practice to prune early. The vine 
is cut off an inch or two beyond the last bud which 
it is desired to leave, in order to avoid injury to 
the bud from the drying out of the end of the cane. 

The pruning is done with small hand pruning- 
shears. The canes are often allowed to remain 
tied to the wires until the pruning is accomplished, 
although it is the practice with most growers who 
use the Knimn system to cut the strings before 
pruning. The removal of the severed canes is 
known as "stripping." In large vineyards, the 
pruner sometimes leaves the stripping to boys or 
other cheap labor. The stripping may be done at 
any time after the pruning is performed until 
spring. It must be done before the growth starts 
on the remaining portions of the vine, however, to 



Pruning. 23 



'<s 



avoid injury to the young buds when tearing the 
vines off the trellis. 

Summer Pruning. — There is much discussion as 
to the advisability of summer pruning. It is essen- 
tial to the understanding of the question that the 
grower bear in mind that this summer pruning is 
of two kinds— the removal or " breaking out ' of 
the superfluous shoots, and heading-in or "stop- 
ping " the main canes to keep them within limits. 
The superfluous shoots are such as spring from 
small, weak buds or those which break from the old 
arms or trunk of the vine. Shoots which start from 
the very base of the old cane are usually weak and 
should be removed. Buds in this position are 
shown at a a, in fig. 4. The secondary or axillary 
branches, which often start from the base of the 
season's shoots, should be removed or broken out. 
These superfluous shoots are pulled off from time 
to time as they appear, or the buds may be rubbed 
off before the shoots begin to grow. 

The heading-in of the main canes, while desir- 
able for the purpose of keeping the vine within 
bounds, is apt to cause a growth of laterals which 
choke up the vine and which do not mature, and 
in those styles of training in which very little wood 
is allowed to grow, the practice may prevent the 
development of a sufficient amount of leaf surface 
to properly sustain the vine. Vines are often 
weakened by summer pruning. These dangers can 
be overcome by careful attention, however, espe- 



24 American Grape Training. 

cially by heading-in very lightly and by doing it as 
late, in the season as possible, when new lateral 
growth does not start readily. The necessity of 
much heading-in has been largely obviated in late 
years by the adoption of high or drooping systems 
of training, and by setting the vines far apart. The 
strong varieties, like Concord, Brighton and Ni- 
agara, should be set ten feet apart in the row, 
especially if grown upon the Kniffin system. Ca- 
tawba, being a very upright grower and especially 
well adapted to upright training, may be set eight 
feet apart, and Dslawares are often set as close as 
six or eight feet. It is doubtful, however, if any 
variety should be set less than eight feet apart for 
trellis culture. In Virginia and southward, where 
the growth is large because of the long seasons, 
vines are often set more than ten feet apart. In 
the South, the rows should run north and south, 
that the fruit ma\ r be shaded from midday sun. 
The only summer heading-in now generally recom- 
mended is the clipping of the tips when they fall 
over and begin to touch the ground. This clip- 
ping is often done with a sickle or sharp corn-cutter. 

Objects of Pruning. — The objects of pruning the 
grape, as of other fruits, are five : 

i. To produce larger and better fruit. 

2. To maintain or augment the vigor of the vine. 

3. To keep the vine within manageable limits, 

4. To facilitate cultivation. 

5. To facilitate spraying. 



CHAPTER II. 

PRELIMINARY PREPARATIONS FOR TRAINING THE 

TRELLIS TYING. 

Training the grape vine is practiced for the pur- 
pose of keeping the vine in convenient shape and 
to allow each cluster to receive its full amount of 
space and light. A well trained vine is easily cul- 
tivated and sprayed, and the grapes are readily 
harvested, and it is only upon such vines that the 
best and fairest fruit is uniformly produced. Some 
kind of training is essential, for a vine will not often 
bear good fruit when it lies upon the ground. In 
essence, there are three general types or styles of 
training, which may be designated as the upright, 
drooping and horizontal, these terms designating 
the direction of the bearing shoots. The upright 
systems carry two or more canes or arms along a 
low horizontal wire, or sometimes obliquely across 
a trellis from below upwards, and the shoots are 
tied up as they grow to the wires above. The hori- 
zontal systems carry up a perpendicular cane or 
arm, or sometimes two or more, from which the 
shoots are carried out horizontally and are tied to 
perpendicular wires or posts. The drooping sys- 
tems, represented in the Kniffin and post-training, 
carry the canes or arms upon a high horizontal wire 

(25) 



26 American Grape Training. 

or trellis and allow the shoots to hang without tying. 
To one or another of these types all the systems of 
American grape-training can be referred. 

There is no system of training which is best for 
all purposes and all varieties. The strong-growing 
varieties more readily adapt themselves to the high 
drooping systems than the weaker varieties, although 
the Delaware is often trained on a comparatively 
low Kniffin with good effect. The high or droop- 
ing systems are of comparatively recent date, and 
their particular advantages are the saving of labor 
in summer tying, cheapness of the trellis, and the 
facility with which the ground can be cultivated 
without endangering the branches of the vine. The 
upright training distributes the bearing wood more 
evenly upon the vine and is thought, therefore, to 
insure more uniform fruit, it keeps the top near the 
root, which is sometimes thought to be an advan- 
tage, and it is better suited to the stature of the small- 
growing varieties. There is, perhaps, a greater 
temptation to neglect the vines in the drooping 
systems than in the others, because the shoots need 
no tying and do not, therefore, demand frequent at- 
tention ; while in the upright systems the shoots soon 
become broken or displaced if not watched. For 
very large areas, or circumstances in which the best 
of care cannot be given the vineyard, the Kniffin or 
drooping systems are perhaps always to be recom- 
mended. Yet the Kniffin profits as much from 
diligence and skill as the other systems ; but it will 



The Trellis. 27 

give better results than the others under partial 
neglect. The strong varieties, especially those 
making long and drooping canes, are well adapted 
to the Kniffin styles ; but the smaller sorts, and 
those stronger sorts which, like Catawba, make an 
upright and stocky growth, are usually trained upon 
the upright systems. But the merits of both sys- 
tems are so various and even so little understood, 
that it is impossible to recommend either one un- 
qualifiedly. The advantages in either case are often 
little more than matters of personal opinion. It 
should be said, however, that the Kniffin or droop- 
ing systems are gaining in favor rapidly, and are 
evidently destined to overthrow much of the older 
upright training. This fact does not indicate, how- 
ever, that the upright system is to be entirel}' su- 
perseded, but rather that it must be confined to 
those varieties and conditions for which it is best 
adapted. The two systems will undoubtedly sup- 
plement each other. The horizontal systems are 
occasionally used for choice varieties, but they are 
little known. 

Making the Trellis. — The fall or winter following 
the planting of the vineyard, the trellis is begun if 
the upright systems are used ; but this operation is 
usually delayed a year longer in the Kniffin sys- 
tems, and stakes are commonly used, or at least 
recommended, during the second season. In the 
South the trellis is made the first year. The style 
of trellis will depend upon the style of training, 



28 American Grape Training. 

but the main features are the same for all. 
Strong posts of some durable timber, as cedar, 
locust or oak, are placed at such distance apart 
that two vines can be set between each two. If the 
vines are set nine feet apart, the posts may be eight- 
een or twenty feet apart, and a vine will then stand 
four or five feet from each post. If the posts in the 
row are eighteen feet apart and the rows eight feet 
apart, about 330 posts will be required to the acre. 
Except in very hard and stony lands, the posts are 
driven with a heavy maul, although many people 
prefer to set the end posts in holes, thinking that 
they endure the strain better. In all loose soils, 
however, posts can be made as firm by driving as 
by setting with a spade. All posts should be as firm 
as possible, in order to hold up the heavy loads of 
vines and fruit. In setting posts on hillsides, it 
is a common practice to lean them slightly uphill, 
for there is always a tendency for the posts to tilt 
down the slope. For the Kniffm systems, espe- 
cially for the strong-growing grapes, the posts must 
stand six or six and one-half feet high when set, 
but a foot less will usually be sufficient for the up- 
right and horizontal systems. The posts should 
stand higher at first than is necessary for the sup- 
port of the wires, for thev will need to be driven 
down occasionally as they become loose. The end 
posts of each row should be well braced, as shown 
in several of the illustrations in this volume. 

The wire ordinarily used is No. 12, except for the 



The Trellis. 29 

top wire in the Kniffin training, which is usually 
No. 10, as the greater part of the weight is then 
upon the top wire. No. 9 is sometimes used, but 
it is heavier than necessary. No. 14 is occasion- 
ally used for the middle and upper rows in the 
upright systems, but it is not strong enough. The 
following figures show the sizes and weights of 
these and similar iron and steel wires : 



<o. 


Diameter in 


inches. 


\\ 


eight 


of 


100 feet. 


Feet 


in 2,000 pounds 


9 


.148 






5.80 


j 01 


nds. 




34,483 


10 


•135 






4-S3 




' 




41 ,408 


11 


.120 






3.82 




' 




52,35 6 


12 


.105 






2.92 




' 




68,493 


13 


.092 






2.24 








89,286 


H 


.080 






1.69 








n8,343 


15 


.072 






i-37 








145,985 


16 


.063 






1.05 








190,476 



The plain annealed iron wire costs about 3 cents 
per pound, and the galvanized — which is less used 
for vineyards — 3^ cents. Of No. 12 wire, about 
160 pounds is required per acre for a single run on 
rows eight feet apart, and about 500 pounds for 
three runs. The cost of No. 12 wire per acre, for 
three runs, therefore, is about $15. 

The wire is secured to the intermediate posts by 
staples driven in firmly so that the wire will not pull 
through readily of its own weight, but still loosely 
enough to allow of the tightening of the wires. In 
other words, the head of the staple should not quite 
touch the wire. Grape staples are of three lengths, 
about an inch, inch and a quarter, and an inch and 
a half respectively. The shortest length is little 



30 American Grape Training. 

used. The medium length is used for hard-wood 
posts and the longest for soft posts, like chestnut 
and cedar. These staples cost five cents per pound 
usually, and a pound of the medium length contains 
from go to ioo of the No. 10 wire size. An acre, 
for three wires, will therefore require, for this size, 
about nine or ten pounds of staples. In windy 
regions, the wires should be placed upon the wind- 
ward side of the posts 

There are various devices for securing the wire 
to the end posts, but the commonest method is 
to wind them about the post once and secure them 
with a staple, or twist the end of the wire back upon 
itself, forming a loop. The wires should be drawn 
taut to prevent sagging with the weight of fruit 
and leaves. In order to allow for the contraction 
of the wires in winter, some growers loosen the 
wires after harvest and others provide some device 
which will relieve the strain. The Yeoman's Pat- 
ent Grape-Vine Trellis is a simple and effective 
lever-contrivance attached to each wire, and which 
is operated to loosen the wires in fall and to tighten 
them in spring. The end post is sometimes pro- 
vided upon the back with a square-headed pin 
which works tightly in an inch and a half augur 
hole and about which the end of the wire is wound. 
A square-headed iron wrench operates the pin, 
while the tension of the wire around the side of the 
post keeps the pin from slipping. This device is 
not durable, however. An ingenious man can 



Tying. 31 

easily contrive some device for relieving the tension, 
if he should think it necessary. As a matter of 
practice, however, the wires soon stretch and sag 
enough with the burden of fruit and vines to take 
up the winter contraction, and most growers do not 
release the wires in fall. It will be found neces- 
sary, in fact, to tighten the wires and to straighten 
up the posts from year to year, as they become 
loose. It is always a profitable labor to tamp the 
ground firmly about all the posts every spring. The 
wires should always be kept tight during the grow- 
ing season to prevent the whipping of the vines by 
wind. This is especially important in white grapes, 
which are discolored by the rubbing of leaves and 
twigs. Unless the vines are very strong it will be 
necessary to stretch only one w T ire the first winter. 

Trellises are often made of slats, as shown in 
Fig. 18, but these are always less durable than the 
wire trellises and more expensive to keep in repair ; 
and in the older portions of the country, where 
timber is dear, they are also more expensive at the 
outset. They catch the wind, and, not being held 
together by continuous strands, are likely to blow 
down in sections. Fuller particulars concerning 
the styles of trellis are given in the discussions of 
the different systems of training. 

Tying. — Probably the best material for tying the 
canes and shoots to the trellis is raffia. This is a 
bast-like material which comes in skeins and which 
can be bought of seedsmen and nurserymen for 



3 2 American Grape Training. 

about 20 cents a pound. A pound will suffice to 
tie a quarter of an acre of upright training through- 
out the season. Raffia is obtained from the strip- 
pings of an oriental palm (Raphia Ruffia). Wool- 
twine is also still largely used for tying, but it is 
not so cheap and handy as raffia, and it usually has 
to be cut when the trellis is stripped at the winter 
pruning, while the raffia breaks with a. quick pull of 
the vine. Some complain that the raffia is not strong 
enough to hold the vine during the season, but it 
can easily be doubled. Osier willows are much 
used for tying up the canes in the spring, and also 
for summer tying, especially in the nursery regions 
where the slender trimmings of the cultivated osier 
willows are easily procured. Wild willows are 
often used if they can be obtained handily. These 
willows are tied up in a small bundle, which is held 
upon the back above the hips by a cord passed 
about the body. The butts project under the right 
hand, if the person is right-handed, and the strands 
are pulled out as needed. The butt is first used, 
the tie being made with a twist and tuck, the strand 
is then cut off with a knife, and the twig is operated 
in like manner until it is used up. When wool- 
twine is used, the ball is often held in front of the 
workman by a cord which is tied about it and then 
passed about the waist. The ball is unwound from 
the inside, and it will hold its shape until the end 
becomes so short that it will easily drag upon the 
ground. Some workmen carry the ball in a bag, 



Tying. 33 

after the manner of carrying seed-corn. Raffia is 
not so easily carried in the field as the wool-twine 
or the willow, and this fact interferes with its popu- 
larity. Green rye-straw, cut directly from the 
field, is much used for tying the shoots in summer. 
Small wire, about two-thirds the size of broom- 
wire, is used occasionally for tying up the canes in 
spring, but it must be used with care or it will in- 
jure the vine. Corn-husks are also employed for 
this purpose when they can be secured. Bass-bark 
is sometimes used for tying, but in most of the 
grape regions it is difficult to secure, and it has no 
advantage over raffia. 

It is very important that the canes be tied up 
early in spring, for the buds are easily broken after 
they begin to swell. These canes are tied rather 
firmly to the wires to hold them steady; but the 
growing shoots, which are tied during the summer, 
are fastened more loosely, to allow of the necessary 
increase in diameter. 




CHAPTER III. 

THE UPRIGHT SYSTEMS. 

The upright systems are the oldest and best 
known of the styles of American grape training. 
They consist, essentially, in carrying out i"wo 
horizontal canes, or sometimes arms, upon a low 
wire and training the shoots from them vertically 
upwards. These shoots are tied to the upper 
wires as they grow. This type was first clearly 
and forcibly described in detail by A. S. Fuller, in 
his "Grape Culturist," in 1864, and it became 
known as the Fuller system, although it was prac- 
ticed many years previous to this time. 

Horizontal Arm Spur System. — There are two types 
or styles of this upright system. The older type and 
the one described in the books, is known as the 
Horizontal Arm Spur training. In this method, 
the two horizontal branches are permanent, or, in 
other words, they are true arms. The canes are 
cut back each fall to upright spurs upon these arms, 
as explained on page 15 (fig. 4.) Two shoots are 
often allowed to grow from each of these spurs, as 
shown in fig. 7. These spurs become overgrown 
and weak after a few years, and they are renewed 
from new shoots which spring from near their base 

(34) 




flf^TT &* 7 



3 6 



American Grape Training. 



or from the arm itself. Sometimes the whole arm 
is renewed from the head of the vine, or even from 
the ground. 

The number of these upright canes and their dis- 
tance apart upon these permanent arms depend 
upon the variety, the strength of the vine and soil 
and the fancy of the grower. From twelve to 




8. horizontal arm. (Diagram.) 

twenty inches apart upon the arm is the common 
distance. If a vine is strong enough to carry five 
canes and the vines are eight feet apart, then the 
canes are distributed at intervals of about twenty 
inches. Some very strong vines of vigorous 
varieties will carry eight canes upon the two arms 



The Upright System. 37 

together, and in this case the canes stand about 
a foot apart. In the fall or winter, the cane 
is cut away and the strongest new cane which 
springs from its base is left for the bearing wood 
of the following year. This new cane is itself 
headed in to the height of the trellis ; that is, if 
the uppermost and lowermost wires are 34 
inches apart — as they are in the Brocton vineyards 
of western New York, where this system is largely 
used — this new cane is shortened in to 34 inches 
long. Upon this length of cane there will be about 
seven good buds in the common varieties. 

A modification of this horizontal arm system is 
shown in fig. 9. It is used about Forestville, 
in Chautauqua county, New York. The arms in 
this case are very short, and canes are taken out 
only at two or three places. The picture shows a 
vine in which two canes are taken from the end of 
each arm, making four canes for the bearing top of 
the vine. These canes are cut back to spurs in the 
fall, as explained in the above paragraph. Some- 
times one or two other canes are taken out of these 
arms nearer the main trunk. The advantages 
urged for this style of training are the stronger 
growth which is insured by so few canes, and the 
small amount of old or permanent wood which is 
left to each vine. 

The horizontal arm training is less popular than 
it was twenty years ago r It has serious faults, 
especially in the persistence of the old spurs, and 



The Upright System. 39 

probably will eventually give place to other systems. 
Aside from the spur pruning, the system is much 
like the following, which is a modification to allow 
of a renewal pruning and to which the reader is 
referred for further details. This modification, 
which may be called the High Renewal, and which 
is one of the most serviceable of any of the styles 
of training, although it has never been fully de- 
scribed, we shall now consider. 

The High Re?iewal, or upright training which is 
now very extensively employed in the lake regions 
of New York and elsewhere, starts the head or 
branches of the vine from eighteen to thirty inches 
from the ground. The ideal height for most varie- 
ties is probably about two feet to the first wire, 
although thirty inches is better than eighteen. If 
the vines are lower than two feet, they are liable to 
be injured by the plow or cultivator, the earth is 
dashed against the clusters by heavy rains, and if 
the shoots become loose they strike the ground 
and the grapes are soon soiled. A single trunk or 
arm is carried up to the required height, or if good 
branches happen to form lower down, two main 
canes are carried from this point up to the required 
distance to meet the lower wire, so that the trunk be- 
becomes Y-shaped, as seen in figs. 10, 16 and 17. In 
fact, vineyardists usually prefer to have this head or 
crotch a few inches below the lowest wire, to facili- 
tate the spreading and placing of the canes. The 
trellis for the upright systems nearly always com- 



4-Q American Grape Training. 

prises three wires, although only two are sometimes 
used for the smaller growing varieties, and very 
rarely four are used for the strongest kinds, al- 
though this number is unnecessary. The lowest 
wire is stretched at eighteen, twenty-four or thirty 
inches from the ground, and the two upper ones 

I " ". ~~ ~ "~ "~1 




>>j 



10. THE SECOND SEASON OK UPRIGHT TRAINING. 

are placed at distances of eighteen or twenty inches 
apart. 

The second season after planting should see the 
vine tied to the first wire. Fig. 10 is a photograph 
taken in July, 1892, of a Concord vine which was 
set in the spring of 1891. In the fall of 1891 the 
vine. was cut back to three or four buds, and in the 
spring of 1892 two of these buds were allowed to 



The Upright System. 41 

make canes. These two canes are now tied to the 
wire, which was stretched in the spring of 1892. 
In this case, the branches start near the surface of 
the ground. Sometimes only a single strong shoot 
grows, and in order to secure the two branches it 
is broken over where it passes the wire, and is us- 
ually tied to a stake to afford support. Fig. 11 
shows this operation. A bud will develop at the 
bend or break, from which a cane can be trained 
in the opposite direction from the original portion, 
and the T-head is secured. 

The close of the second season after planting, 
therefore, will usually find the vine with two good 
canes extending in opposite directions and tied to 
the wire. The pruning at that time will consist in 
cutting off the ends of these canes back to firm and 
strong wood, which will leave them bearing from 
five to eight buds. The third season, shoots will 
grow upright from these buds and will be tied to 
the second wire, which has now been supplied. 
Late in the third season the vine should have much 
the appearance of that shown in fig. 12. The 
third wire is usually added to the trellis at the 
close of the second season, at the same time that 
the second wire is put on ; but occasionally this is 
delayed until the close of the third season. Some 
of the upright shoots may bear a few grapes this 
third season, but unless the vines are very strong 
the flower clusters should be removed; and a three- 
year-old vine should never be allowed to bear 



4 2 



American Grape 7 raining. 



heavily. It must be remembered, however, that 
both these horizontal canes, with all their mass of 



herbage, are to be cut away in 
the fall or winter of the third 
year. Some provision must have 
been made, therefore, for the top 
for the fourth year. It will be 
recalled that in discussing the re- 
newal pruning (page 16, fig. 5), it 
was found that two or more 
shoots are allowed to grow each 
year to form the basis of the top 
the following year. In fig. 12 
three or four such shoots can be 
seen springing from the Y-shaped 
portion in the center of the vine. 
These shoots or canes are to be 
bent down to the lowest wire next 
spring, and the bearing shoots will 
arise from them. This process 
will be seen at a glance from 
figs. 13, 14 and 15. The first 
shows a full grown old vine, 
trained on three wires. Fig. 14 
shows the same vine when pruned. 
Two long canes, with six or eight buds each, are 



II. MAKING THE 
T-HEAD. 



The Upright System. 



45 



left to form the top of the following year. The 
two stubs from which the renewal canes are to 
grow for the second year's top are seen in the cen- 
ter. In the fall of the next year, therefore, these 
two outside canes will be cut away to the base of 




14. HIGH RENEWAL, PRUNED. 

these renewal stubs ; and the renewal canes, in the 
meantime, will have made a year's growth. These 
renewal stubs in this picture are really spurs, as 
will be seen; that is, they contain two ages of 
wood. It is the purpose, however, to remove these 
stubs or spurs every two or three years at most, 



The Upright System. 



47 



and to bring new canes directly from the old wood 
or head. If possible, the renewal cane is brouo-ht 
from a new place on the old wood every year in 
order to avoid a spur. Such was the case in the 
vine shown in fig. 5, page 19. Fig. 15 shows the 
same vine tied down to the lowest wire. Two 
ties have been made upon each cane. Fig. 16 



shows a vine in 
have been left to 
the following year, 
renewals can be seen 
customary to leave 
canes, occasionally, 
varieties like Con- 
times four and occa- 




16. HIGH RE 



which four canes 
form the top for 
The stubs for the 
in the Y. It is 
more than two 
in strong-growing 
cord. S o m e- 
_ sionally six are 
left. If four canes newal with are left, two may 
be tied together in FOURCANES - e ach direction 
upon the bottom wire. If six are used, the two 
extra ones should be tied along the second wire, 
parallel with the lowest ones. These extra canes 
are sometimes tied obliquely across the trellis, but 
this practice should be discouraged, for the usual 
tendency of the vine is to make its greatest growth 
at the top, and the lower buds may fail to bear. 

The ideal length of the two canes varies with 
different varieties and the distance apart at which 



The Upright System. 49 

the vines are set. Very strong kinds, like Con- 
cord and Niagara, can carry ten or twelve buds on 
each cane, especially if the vines are set more than 
eight feet apart. Fig. 17 shows half of a Concord 
vine in which about ten buds were left on each 
cane. These strong sorts can often carry forty or 
fifty buds to the vine to advantage, but when this 
number is left the canes should be four, as explained 
in the last paragraph. In Delaware and other weak- 
growing varieties, twenty or twenty-five buds to the 
vine should be the maximum and only two canes 
should be left. In short-jointed varieties, the canes 
are usually cut to the desired length — four to six feet 
— even if too great a number of buds is left, but the 
shoots which spring from these extra buds are 
broken out soon after they start. A Delaware 
vine w T hich has made an unusually short or weak 
growth will require fewer buds to be left for next 
year's top than a neighboring vine of the same va- 
riety which has made a strong growth. The Ca- 
tawba, w T hich is a short but very stiff grower, is usually 
cut back to six or eight buds, as seen in figs. 13, 
14 and 15. The grower soon learns to adjust the 
pruning to the character of the vine without effort. 
He has in his mind a certain ideal crop of grapes, 
perhaps about so many bunches, and he leaves 
enough buds to produce this amount, allowing, 
perhaps, ten per cent, of the buds for accidents 
and barren shoots. He knows, too, that the canes 
should always be cut back to firm, well-ripened 



50 American Grape Training. 

wood. It should be said that mere size of cane 
does not indicate its value as a fruit-bearing branch. 
Hard, smooth wood of medium size usually gives 
better results than the very large and softer canes 
which are sometimes produced on soils rich in 
nitrogenous manures. This large and overgrown 
wood is known as a "bull cane." A cane does not 
attain its full growth the first year, but will increase 
in diameter during the second season. The tying 
therefore, should, be sufficiently loose or elastic to 
allow of growth, although it should be firm enough 
to hold the cane constantly in place. The cane 
should not be hung from the wire, but tied close to 
it, provision being made for the swelling of the 
wood to twice its diameter 

The shoots are tied to the second wire soon after 
they pass it, or have attained firmness enough to 
allow of tying, and the same shoots are tied again 
to the top wire. All the shoots do not grow with 
equal rapidity, and the vineyard must be gone over 
more than twice if the shoots are kept properly 
tied. Perhaps four times over the vineyard will be 
all that is necessary for careful summer tying. 
Many vineyardists tie only once or twice, but this 
neglect should be discouraged. This tying is 
mostly done with green rye straw or raffia. A piece 
of straw about ten inches long is used for each tie, 
it usually being wrapped but once about the shoot. 
The knot is made with a twist and tuck. If raffia 
is used, a common string-knot is made. When the 



52 Ajnerican Grape Training. 

shoots reach the top of the trellis, they are usually 
allowed to take care of themselves. The Catawba 
shoots stand n3arly erect above the top wire and 
ordinarily need no attention. The long-growing 
varieties will be likely to drag the shoots upon the 
ground before the close of the season. If these 
tips interfere with the cultivation, they may be 
clipped off with a sickle or corn-cutter, although 
this practice should be delayed as long as possible 
to prevent the growth of laterals (see page 21). It 
is probably better to avoid cutting entirely. Some 
growers wind or tie the longest shoots upon the top 
wire, as seen in fig. 17. It is probably best, as a 
rule, to allow the shoots to hang over naturally, and 
to clip them only when they seriously interfere with 
the work of the hoe and cultivator. The treatment 
for slat trellises, as shown in fig. 18, is the same as 
on wire trellises, except that longer strings must be 
used in tying. 

It is apparent that nearly or quite all the fruit 
in the High Renewal is borne between the first and 
second wires, at the bottom of the trellis. If the 
lower wire is twenty-four or thirty inches high, this 
fruit will hang at the most convenient height for 
picking. The fruit trays are set upon the ground, 
and both hands are free. The fruit is also pro- 
tected from the hot suns and from frost ; and if the 
shoots are properly tied, the clusters are not shaken 
roughly by the wind. It is, of course, desirable 
that all the clusters should be fully exposed to light 



The Upright System. 53 

and air, and all superfluous shoots should, there- 
fore, be pulled off, as already explained (page 21). 
In rare cases it may also be necessary, for this pur- 
pose, to prune the canes which droop over from the 
top of the trellis. 

After a few years, the old top or head of the vine 
becomes more or less weak and it should be renewed 
from the root. The thrifty vineyardist anticipates 
this circumstance, and now and then allows a thrifty 
shoot which may spring from the ground to remain. 
This shoot is treated very much like a young vine, 
and the head is formed during the second year 
(page 16, bottom). If it should make a strong growth 
during the first year and develop stout laterals, it 
may be cut back only to the lowest wire the 
first fall ; but in other cases, it should be cut back 
to two or three buds, from one of which a strong 
and permanent shoot is taken the second year. 
When this new top comes into bearing, the old trunk 
is cut off at the surface of the ground, or below if 
possible. A top will retain its vigor for six or eight 
years under ordinary treatment, and sometimes 
much longer. These tops are renewed from time 
to time as occasion permits or demands, and any 
vineyard which has been bearing a number of years 
will nearly always have a few vines in process of 
renewal. The reader should not receive the im- 
pression, however, that the life or vitality of a vine 
is necessarily limited. Vines often continue to bear 
for twenty years or more without renewal ; but the 



54 American Grape Training. 

head after a time comes to be large and rough 
and crooked, and often weakened by scars, and 
better results are likely to be obtained if a new, 
clean vine takes its place. 

The High Renewal is extensively used in the 
lake region of Western New York, for all varieties. 
It is particularly well adapted to Delaware, Cataw- 
ba, and other weak or short varieties. When syste- 
matically pursued, it gives fruit of the highest ex- 
cellence. This High Renewal training, like all the 
low upright systems, allows the vines to be laid 
down easily in winter, which is an important con- 
sideration in many parts of Canada and in the 
colder northern states. 

Fan Training. — A system much used a few years 
ago and still sometimes seen, is one which renews 
back nearly to the ground each year, and carries 
the fruiting canes up in a fan-shaped manner. This 
system has the advantages of dispensing with 
much of the old wood, or trunk, and facilitating 
laying down the vine in winter in cold climates. 
On the other hand, it has the disadvantages of bear- 
ing the fruit too low — unless the lower clusters are 
removed — and making a vine of inconvenient shape 
for tying. It is little used at present. Fig. 19 
shows a vine pruned for fan-training, although it is 
by no means an ideal vine. This vine has not been 
properly renewed, but bears long, crooked spurs, 
from which the canes spring. One of these spurs 
will be seen to extend beyond the lower wire. The 



The Upright System. 55 

spurs should be kept very short, and they should 
be entirely removed every two or three years, as 
explained in the above discussion of the High Re- 
newal training. 

The shoots are allowed to take their natural 
course, being tied to any wire near which they 
chance to grow r , finally lopping over the top wire. 
Sometimes the canes are bent down and tied hori- 
zontally to the wires, and this is probably the better 
practice. Two canes may be tied in each direction 
on the lower wire, or the two inner canes may be 
tied down to the second wire. In either case, the 
vine is essentially like the High Renewal, except 
that the trunk is shorter. 




19. FAN TRAINING, AFTER PRUNING. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE DROOPING SYSTEMS. 

In 1845 William T. Cornell planted a vineyard 
in the Hudson River Valley. A neighbor, William 
Kniffin, was a stone mason with a few acres of land 
to which he devoted his attention during the leisure 
seasons of his trade. Cornell induced Kniffin to 
plant a few grapes. He planted the Isabella, and 
succeeding beyond his expectations, the plantation 
was increased into a respectable vineyard and 
Kniffin came to be regarded as a local authority 
upon grape culture. Those were the pioneer days 
in commercial grape growing in North America, 
and there were no undisputed maxims of cultivation 
and training. If any system of close training and 
pruning was employed, it was probably the old hori- 
zontal arm spur system, or something like it. One 
day a large limb broke from an apple-tree and fell 
upon a grape-vine, tearing off some of the canes 
and crushing the vine into a singular shape. The 
vine was thought to be ruined, but h was left until 
the fruit could be gathered. But as the fruit ma- 
tured, its large size and handsome appearance at- 
tracted attention. It was the best fruit in the vine- 
yard ! Mr. Kniffin was an observant man, and he 

(56) 



The Drooping Sysle?n. 57 

inquired into the cause of the excellent fruit. He 
noticed that the vine had been pruned and that the 
best canes stood out horizontally. From this sug- 
gestion he developed the four-cane system of train- 
ing which now bears his name. A year or two later, 
in 1854, tne system had attracted the attention of 
those of his neighbors who cultivated grapes, and 



~* 






20. William Kniffin. 

thereafter it spread throughout the Hudson valley, 
where it is to-day, with various modifications, 
the chief method of grape training. Its merits 
have become known beyond its original valley, and 
it is now spreading more rapidly than any other 
system. The ground upon which the old Isabellas 



5& American Grape Training. 

grew is now occupied by Concords, which are as 
vigorous and productive as those grown upon newer 
soils. William Kniffin died at his home irt Clinton- 
dale, Ulster county, New York, June 13, 1876, at 
fifty-seven years of age. The portrait is from a 
photograph which was taken two or three years 
before his death. 

The True or Four-Cane Kniffin System. — Figure 21 
shows the true Kniffin system, very nearly as 
practiced by its originator. A single stem or trunk 
is carried directly to the top wire, and two canes are 
taken out from side spurs at each wire. Mr. 
Kniffin believed in short canes, and cut them 
back to about six buds on both wires. But most 
growers now prefer to leave the upper canes 
longer than the lower ones, as seen in illustration. 
The bearing shoots are allowed to hang at will, 
os that no summer tying is necessary ; this is the 
distinguishing mark of the various Kniffin systems. 
The main trunk is tied to each wire, and the canes 
are tied to the wires in spring. This system pos- 
sesses the great advantage, therefore, of requiring 
little labor during the busy days of the growing 
season ; and the vines are easily cultivated, and if 
the rows are nine or ten feet apart, currants or 
other bush-fruits can be grown between. The sys- 
tem is especially adapted to the strong varieties of 
grapes. For further comparisons of the merits of 
different systems of training, the reader should con- 
sult Chapter II. 



V 











•&»** 0g ^> 



*r 



/ 



X / 

IS 



; 



6o 



American Grape Training. 



The pruning of the Kniffin vine consists in 
cutting off all the wood save a single cane from 
each spur. Fig. 22 
illustrates the pro- 
cess. T h i s i s the 
same vine which is 
shown with the full 
amount of wood on 
i n fig. 2 1. The 
drooping shoots 
shown in that illus- 
tration bore the 
grapes of 1892; and 
now, in the winter of 
1892-93, they are all 
to be cut away, with 
the horizontal old 
canes from which 
they grew, save only 
the four canes which 
hang nearest the main 
trunk. Fig. 22 shows 
the vine after it had 
been pruned. It is 
not obligatory that 
the canes which are 
left after the pruning 
should be those nearest the trunk, for it may happen 
that these may be weak ; but, other things being 
equal, these canes are preferable because their 




22. NO. 21 WHEN PRUNFD. 



The Drooping System. 61 

selection keeps the old spurs short. The careful 
grower will take pains to remove the weak shoots 
which start from this point, in order that a strong 
cane may be obtained. It is desirable that these 
side spurs be removed entirely every three or four 
years, a new cane being brought out again from the 
main body or trunk. There is little expectation, 
however, that there shall be such a complete re- 
newal pruning as that practiced in the High Re- 
newal, which we discussed in the last chapter. 

It will be seen that the drooping canes in fig. 22 
are shorter than they were originally, as shown 
in fig. 21. They have been cut back. The length 
at which these canes shall be left is a moot point. 
Much depends upon the variety, the distance be- 
tween the wires, the strength of the soil, and other 
factors. Nearly all ■ growers now agree that the 
upper canes should be longer than the lower ones, 
although equal canes are still used in some places. 
In strong varieties, like Worden, each of the upper 
canes may bear ten buds and each of the lower 
ones five. This gives thirty buds to 'the vine. 
Some growers prefer to leave twelve buds above and 
only four below. 

These four pruned canes axe generally allowed to 
hang during winter, but are tied onto the wires before 
the buds swell in spring. They are stretched out 
horizontally and secured to the wire by one or two 
ties upon each cane. The shoots which spring 
from these horizontal canes stand upright or 



62 American Grape Training, 

oblique at first but they soon fall over with the 
weight of foliage and fruit. If they touch the 
ground, the ends may be clipped off with a sickle, 
corn-cutter or scythe, although this is not always 
done, and is not necessary unless the canes inter- 
fere with cultivation. There is no summer-pinch- 
ing nor pruning, although the superfluous shoots 
should be broken out, as in other systems. (See 
page 23). 

Only two wires are used in the true Kniffin trellis. 
The end posts are usually set in holes, rather than 
driven, to render them solid, and they should always 
be well braced. The intermediate posts are driven, 
and they usually stand between every alternate vine, 
or twenty feet apart if the vines are ten feet apart — 
which is a common distance for the most vigor- 
ous varieties. For the strong-growing varieties, 
the top wire is placed from five and one-half to six 
feet above the ground. Five feet nine inches is a 
popular height. The posts will heave sufficiently to 
bring the height to six feet, although it is best to 
' ' tap ' ' the posts every spring with a maul in order to 
drive them back and make them firm. The lower 
wire is usually placed at three and one-half feet. 
Delawares, if trained Kniffin, should not stand 
above five feet four inches, or at most five feet six 
inches. Strong vines on good soil are often put onto 
the trellis the second year, although it is a commoner 
practice, perhaps, to stake them the second season, 
as already explained (page 27), and put them 



The Drooping System. 63 

on the wires the third season. The year following 
the tying to the trellis,, the vine should bear a 
partial crop. The vine is usually carried directly to 
the top wire the first season of training, although 
it is the practice of some growers, especially out- 
Side the Hudson valley,, to stop the trunk at the 
lower wire the first year of permanent training, and 
to carry it to the top wire the following year. 

Yields from good Kniffin vines will average fully 
as high and perhaps higher than from other species 
of training. W. D. Barns, of Orange county, New 
York, has had an annual average of twenty-six 
pounds of Concords to the vine for nine years, 1, 550 
vines being considered in the calculation. While 
the Delaware is not so well suited to the Kniffin 
system as stronger varieties, it can nevertheless be 
trained in this manner with success, as the follow- 
ing average yields obtained by Mr. Barns from 200 
vines set in 1881 will show: 

1836 8% pounds to the vine. 

iS3 7 u^ 

1888 3 

lS8 9 9 y 2 

1890 7 

'891 16 

l8 9^ ij 

Modifications of the Four- Cane Kniffin. — Various 
modifications of this original four-cane Kniffin are 
in use. The Kniffin idea is often carelessly ap- 
plied to a rack trellis. .In such cases, several 
canes were allowed to grow where only two should 
have been left. Fig. 23 is a common but poor style 



The Drooping System. 



65 



of Kniffin used in some of the large new vineyards 
of western New York. It differs from the type in 
the training of the young wood. These shoots, 
instead of being allowed to hang at will, are carried 
out horizontally and either tied to the wire or 




.__ J 



24. THE Y-TRUNK KNIFFIN. 



twisted around it. The advantage urged for this 
modification is the little injury done by wind, but, 
as a matter of practice, it affords less protection 
than the true drooping Kniffin, for in the latter the 



66 Ai?ierican Grape Training. 

shoots from the tipper cane soon cling to the lower 
wire, and the shoots from both tiers of canes pro- 
tect each other below the lower wire. There are 
three serious disadvantages to this holding up of 
the shoots, — it makes unnecessary labor, the canes 
are likely to make wood or "bull canes" (see 
page 50) at the expense of fruit, and the fruit is 
bunched together on the vines. 

Another common modification of the four-cane 
Kniffin is that shown in fig. 24, in which a crotch or Y 
is made in the trunk. This crotch is used in the belief 
that the necessary sap supply is thereby more readily 
deflected into the lower arms than by the system 
of side spurring on a straight or continuous trunk. 
This is probably a fallacy, and may have arisen 
from the attempt to grow as heavy canes on the 
lower wire as on the upper one. Nevertheless, this 
modification is in common use in western New 
York and elsewhere. 

If it is desired to leave an equal number of buds 
on both wires, the Double Kniffin will probably be 
found most satisfactory. Two distinct trunks are 
brought from the root, each supplying a single wire 
only. The trunks are tied together to hold them in 
place. This system, under the name of Improved 
Kniffin, is just coining into notice in restricted por- 
tions of the Hudson valley. 

Tlie Two- Cane Kniffin, or Umbrella System. — In- 
asmuch as the greater part of the fruit in the Four- 
Cane Kniffin is born upon the upper wire, the ques- 



The Droopi?ig Syste?n. 



67 



tion arises if it would not be better to dispense with 
the lower canes and cut the upper ones longer. 
This is now done to a considerable extent, especi- 
ally in the Hudson valley. Fig. 25 explains the 
operation. This shows a pruned vine. The trunk 
is tied to the lower wire to steady it, and two canes, 
each bearing from nine to fifteen buds, are left upon 
the upper wire. These canes are tied to the upper 
wire and they are then bent down, hoop-like, to the 




25. UMBRELLA TRAINING. 

lower wire, where the ends are tied. In some in- 
stances, the lower wire is dispensed with, but this 
is not advisable. This wire holds the vine in place 
against the winds and prevents the too violent 
whipping of the hanging shoots. During the grow- 
ing season, renewal canes are taken from the spurs 
in exactly the same manner as in the ordinary Knif- 
fin. This species of training reduces the amount of 
leaf-surface to a minimum, and every precaution 
must be taken to insure a healthy leaf -growth. This 



The Drooping System. 69 

system of training will probably not allow of the 
successful girdling of the vine for the purpose of 
hastening the maturity and augmenting the size of 
the fruit. Yet heavy crops can be obtained from 
it, if liberal fertilizing and good cultivation are em- 
ployed, and the fruit is nearly always first-class. A 
Concord vine trained in this manner produced in 
1892 eighty clusters of first quality grapes, weigh- 
ing forty pounds. 

Another type of Umbrella training is shown in 
fig. 26, before pruning. Here five main canes were 
allowed to grow, instead of two. Except in very 
strong vines, this top is too heavy, and it is probably 
never so good as the other (fig. 25), if the highest 
results are desired ; but for the grower who does 
not care to insure high cultivation it is probably a 
safer system than the other. 

The Low, or One- Wire Kniffin. — A modification 
of this Umbrella system is sometimes used, in which 
the trellis is only three or four feet high and com- 
prises but a single wire. A cane of ten or a dozen 
buds is tied out in each direction, and the shoots are 
allowed to hang in essentially the same manner as 
in the True or High Kniffin system. The advan- 
tages urged for this system are the protection of the 
grapes from wind, the large size of the fruit due to 
the small amount of bearing wood, the ease of lay- 
ing down the vines, the readiness with which the 
top can be renewed from the root as occasion de- 
mands, and the cheapness of the trellis. 



7o 



American Grape Training. 



The Six- Cane Kniffin. — There are many old vine- 
yards in eastern New York which are trained upon 
a six-cane or three-wire system. The general prim- 
ning and management of these vines do not differ 
from that of the common Knimn. Very strong va- 
rieties which can carry an abundance of wood, 
may be profitable upon this style of training, but 
it cannot be recommended. A Concord vineyard 
over thirty years old, comprising 295 vines, trained 
in this fashion, is still thrifty and productive. 
Twice it has produced crops of six tons. 

Eight- Cane Kniffin. — Eight and even ten canes 
are sometimes left upon a single trunk, and are 
trained out horizontally or somewhat obliquely, as 




27. eight-cane kniffin. (Diagram.) 

shown in the accompanying diagram (fig. 27). 
Unless these canes are cut back to four or five buds 
each, the vine carries too much wood and fruit. 




28. OVERHEAD KNIFFIN. 



72 



American Grape Training. 



This system allows of close planting, but the trellis 
is too expensive. The trunk soon becomes over- 
grown with spurs, and it is likely to become prema- 
turely weak. This style is very rarely used. 

Overhead, or Arbor Kniffin. — A curious modifica- 
tion of the Kniffin is employed somewhat on the 
Hudson, particularly by Sands Haviland at Marl- 
boro'. The vines are carried up on a kind of over- 




29. OVERHEAD KNIFFIN. 



head arbor, as shown in figs. 28, 29 and 30. The 
trellis is six feet above the ground, and is composed 
of three horizontal wires lying in the same plane. 
The central wire runs from post to post, and one 
upon either side is attached to the end of a three- 
foot cross-bar, as represented in fig. 28. The rows 
are nine feet apart, and the vines and posts twelve 
feet apart in the row. Contiguous rows are braced 
by a connecting-pole, as in fig. 29. The trunk of 



74 American Grape Training. 

the vina ends in a T-shaped head, which is well 
displayed in the vine at the extreme right in the 
foreground in fig. 30. From this T-head, five canes 
are carried out from spurs. It was formerly the 
practice to carry out six canes, one in each direc- 
tion upon each wire, but this was found to supply 
too much wood. Now two canes are carried in one 
direction and three in the other ; and the positions 
of these sets are alternated each year, if possible. 
The canes which are left after the winter pruning 
are tied along the wires in spring, as in the Kniffin, 
and the shoots hang over the wires. The chief 
advantage of this training is that it allows of the 
growing of bush-fruits between the rows, as seen in 
fig. 29. It is also said that the clusters hang so 
free that the bloom is not injured by the twigs or 
leaves, and the fruit is protected from sun and frost. 
Every post must be large and firmly set, however, 
adding much to the cost of the trellis. Several 
styles similar to this are in use, one of the best be- 
ing the Crittenden system, of Michigan. In this 
system, the trellis is low, not exceeding four or five 
feet, and the vines cover a flat-topped platform two 
or three feet wide. 

The Cross- Wire System. — Another high Kniffin 
training, and which is also confined to the vicinity 
of Marlboro', New York, is the Cross-Wire, repre- 
sented in figs. 31 and 32. Small posts are set eight 
fe3t apart each way, and a single wire runs from the 
top of post to post — six and one-half feet from the 



The Drooping System. 



75 



ground — in each direction, forming a check-row 
system of overhead wires. The grape-vine is set at 
the foot of the stake, to which the trunk is tied for 
support. Four canes are taken from spurs on the 
head of the trunk, one for each of the radiating 
wires. These canes are cut to three and one-half or 
four feet in length, and the bearing shoots droop as 




31. CROSS-WIRE TRAINING. 

they grow. Fig. 31 shows this training as it appears 
some time after the leaves start in spring. Later in 
the season the whole vineyard becomes a great arbor, 
and a person standing at a distance sees an almost 
impenetrable mass of herbage, as in fig. 32. This 
system appears to have little merit, and will always 
remain local in application. It possesses the ad- 
vantage of economy in construction of the trellis, 
for very slender posts are used, even at the ends of 



The Drooping System. 77 

the rows. The end posts are either braced by a 
pole or anchored by a wire taken from the top and 
secured to a stake or stone eight or ten feet be- 
yond, outside the vineyard. 

Renewal Kniffin. — It is an easy matter to adapt 
the Kniffin principle of free hanging shoots to a 
true renewal method of pruning. There are a few 
modifications in use in which the wood is annually 
renewed to near the ground. The trellises com- 
prise either two or three wires, and are made in the 
same manner as for the upright systems, as the 
High Renewal. At the annual pruning only one 
cane is left. This comprises twelve or fifteen buds, 
and is tied up diagonally across the trellis, the point 
or end of the cane usually being bent downward 
somewhat, in order to check the strong growth from 
the uppermost parts. The shoots hang from this 
cane, and they may be pinched back when they 
reach the ground. In the meantime a strong shoot 
is taken out from the opposite side of the head — 
which usually stands a foot or less from the ground — 
to make the bearing wood of the next year ; and this 
new cane will be tied in an opposite direction on the 
trellis from the present bearing cane, and the next 
renewal shoot will be taken from the other side of 
the head, or the side from which the present bear- 
ing wood sprung ; so that the bearing top of the vine 
is alternated in either direction upon the trellis. 
This system, and similar ones, allow of laying down 
the vines easily in winter, and insure excellent fruit 



78 



American Grape Training. 



because the amount of bearing wood is small ; but 
the crop is not large enough to satisfy most de- 
mands. 

The Munson System. — An unique system of train- 
ing, upon the Kniffin principle, has been devised by 
T. V. Munson, of Denison, 
Texas, a well-known au- 
thority upon grapes. Two 
posts are set in the same 
hole, their tops diverging. 
A wire is stretched along the 
top of these posts and a third 
one is hung between them 
on cross-wires. The trunk 
of the vine, or its head, is 
secured to this middle lower 
wire and the shoots lop over 
the side wires. The growth, 
therefore, makes a V-shaped 
or trough-like mass of herb- 
age. Fig. 33 is an end view 
of this trellis, showing the 
short wire connecting the 
posts and which also holds the 
middle trellis-wire at the point of the V. Fig. 34 is a 
side view of the trellis. The bearing canes, two or 
four, in number, which are left after the annual prun- 
ing, are tied along this middle wire. The main trunk 
forks just under the middle wire, as seen at the left 
in fig. 34. A head is formed at this place not unlike 




33- 



MUNSON TRAINING. 
END VIEW. 




**w 






80 American Grape Training. 

like that which characterizes the High Renewal, for 
this system also employs renewal pruning. The 
trellis stands six feet high. The shoots stand up- 
right at first, but soon fall down and are supported by 
the side wires. The following account of this system 
of training is w T ritten for this occasion by Mr. Munson : 
"After the vines have flowered, the bearing 
laterals have their tips pinched off, and that is all 
the summer pruning the vine gets, except to rub off 
all eyes that start on the body below the crotch. 
Two to four shoots, according to strength of vine, 
are started from the forks or crotch and allowed to 
bear no fruit, but are trained along over the lower cen- 
tral wire for renewal canes. When pruning time ar- 
rives, the entire bearing cane of the present year, with 
all its laterals, is cut away at a point near where the 
young renewal shoots have started, and these shoots 
are shortened back, according to strength of vine ; 
some, such as Herbemont, being able at four years 
to fill four shoots six or eight feet long with fine 
fruit, while Delaware could not well carry over three 
or four feet each way of one shoot only. The 
different varieties are set at various distances apart, 
according as they are strong or weak growers. 

" Thus the trellis and system of pruning are re- 
duced to the simplest form. A few cuts to each 
vine cover all the pruning, and a few ties complete 
the task. A novice can soon learn to do the work 
well. The trunk or main stem is secured to the 
middle lower wire, along which all bearing canes 



The Drooping System. 81 

are tied after pruning, and from which the young- 
laterals which produce the crop are to spring. 
These laterals strike the two outer wires, soon 
clinging to them with their tendrils, and are safe 
from destruction, while the fruit is thrown in the 
best possible position for spraying and gathering, 
and is still shaded with the canopy of leaves. I 
have now used this trellis five years upon ten acres 
of mixed vines, and I am more pleased with it every 

year. 

''The following advantages ars secured by this 

system : 

"i. The natural habit of the vine is maintained, 
which is a canopy to shade the roots and body of 
vine and the fruit, without smothering. 

"2. New wood, formed by sap which has never 
passed through bearing wood, is secured for the 
next crop — a very important matter. 

"3. Simplicity and convenience of trellis, 
allowing free passage in any direction through the 
vineyard ; circulation of air without danger of break- 
ing tender shoots ; ease of pruning, spraying, cul- 
tivation, harvesting. 

"4. Perfect control in pruning of amount of crop 
to suit capacity of vine. 

"5. Long canes for bearing, which agrees ex- 
actly with the nature of. nearly all our American 
species far better than short spurs. 

"6. Ease of laying down in winter. The vine 



82 



American Grape 



Training. 



being pruned and not tied, standing away from 
posts, can be bent down to one side between the 
rows, and earth thrown upon it, and can be quickly 
raised and tied in position. 

'■J. Cheapness of construction and ease of re- 
moving trellis material and using it again. 

"8. Durability of both trellis and vineyard. " 




CHAPTER V. 

MISCELLANEOUS SYSTEMS. 

Horizontal Training. — There are very few types 
of horizontal shoot training now in use. The best 
is probably that shown in fig. 35. This particular 




35. HORIZONTAL TRAINING. 



vine is a Delaware, to which this training is well 
adapted. It will be noticed that this picture rep- 

(83) 



84 American Grape Training. 

resents the end of a trellis, and the diagonal stick 
seen near the ground is a brace for the end post. 
Two wires run from post to post, one about two 
and one-half feet above the ground and the other 
five and one-half feet high. The posts are set at 
the ordinary distance of 16 or iS feet apart. The 
vines are set six or eight feet apart, if Delawares. 
A strong stake is driven in the ground behind each 
vine, standing as high as the top of the trellis, 
when set. The permanent trunk or head of th? 
vine stands about a foot high. The vine is re- 
newed back to the top of this trunk every year. 
One cane is left at each pruning, which, when tied 
up to the stake, is as high as the trellis. From 
this perpendicular cane, the bearing shoots are car- 
ried out horizontally. About six of these shoots are 
allowed to grow upon either side of the cane. As 
the shoots grow, they are tied to perpendicular 
slats which are fastened on the wires. These slats 
do not touch the ground. Two slats are provided 
upcn either side, making four to a vine. They stand 
a foot or fifteen inches apart. The clusters hang 
free from the horizontal shoots. If the shoots 
grow too long, they are pinched in when they have 
passed the second slat. While these shoots are 
covering the trellis, another shoot is taken out 
from the head or trunk of the vine and, without 
being allowed to fruit, is tied up along the central 
stake. This shoot is to form the top next year, 
for all the present vine is to be entirely cut away 



Miscellaneous Systems. 85 

at the winter's pruning. So the vine starts every 
spring with but a single cane. 

Excellent results are obtained from the slender 
growing varieties by this method of training, but 
it is too expensive in trellis and in labor of tying to 
make it generally practicable. Delaware, however, 
thrives remarkably well when trained in this 
fashion. 

Post Training. — There are various methods of 
training to posts, all of which possess two advan- 
tages — the saving of the expense of trellis and al- 
lowing of cultivation both ways. But they also 
have grave disadvantages, especially in the thick- 
ness of the head of foliage which harbors rot and 
mildew and prevents successful spraying, and 
hinders the fruit from coloring and ripening well. 
These faults are so serious that post training is 
now little used for the American grapes. The 
saving in cost of trellis is not great, for more posts 
are required to the acre than in the trellis systems, 
and they do not endure long when standing 
alone with the whole weight of the vines thrown 
upon them. 

There are various methods of pruning for the 
stake training, but nearly all of them agree in 
pruning to side spurs upon a permanent upright 
arm which stands the ■ full height of the vine. 
There may be one or two sets of these spurs. We 
might suppose the Kniffin vine, shown in fig. 22, 
to be tied to a post instead of stretched on a trel- 



Miscellaneous Systems. 87 

lis ; in that event, the four canes would hang at 
will, or they might be wrapped about the post, the 
shoots hanging out unsupported in all directions. 
The post systems are essentially Kniffin in princi- 
ple, for the shoots hang free. In low styles of 
post training, the permanent head of the vine may 
be only three or four feet high. This head will 
have a ring of spurs on it, and at the annual prun- 
ing three to five canes with from six to ten buds 
each are left. Fig. 36 is a view in such a post 
vineyard. 

The main trunk is usually tied permanently to 
the post. The canes left after pruning are va- 
riously disposed. Sometimes they are bent up- 
wards and tied to the post above the head of the 
vine, but they are oftenest either wound loosely 
about the post, or are allowed to hang loose. Two 
trunks are frequently used to each post, both com- 
ing from the ground from a common root. These 
are wound about the post in opposite directions, 
one outside the other, and if the outside one is se- 
cured at the top by a small nail driven through it, 
or by a cord, no other tying will be necessary. 
Sometimes two or three posts are set at distances 
of one foot or more apart, and the vines are 
wrapped about them, but this only arguments the 
size and depth of the mass of foliage. Now and 
then one sees a careful post training, in which but 
little wood is left and vigorous breaking out of 
shoots practiced, which gives excellent results ; 



88 American Grape Training. 

but on the whole, it cannot be recommended. The 
European post and stake systems or modifications 
of them, are yet occasionally recommended for 
American vines, but under general conditions, es- 
pecially in commercial grape growing, they rarely 
succeed long. One of the latest recommendations 
of any of these types is that of the single pole sys- 
tem of the Upper Rhine Valley, by A. F. Hofer, of 
Iowa, in a little treatise published in 1878. 

Arbors. — Arbors and bowers are usually formed 
with little reference to pruning and training. The 
first object is to secure shade and seclusion, and 
these are conditions which may seriously interfere 
with the production of fine grapes. As a rule, too 
much wood must be allowed to grow, and the soil 
about arbors is rarely ever cultivated. Still, fair re- 
sults in fruit can be obtained if the operator makes 
a diligent use of the pruning shears. It is usually 
best to carry one main or permanent trunk up to 
the top or center of the arbor. Along this trunk 
at intervals of two feet or less, spurs may be left 
to which the wood is renewed each year. If the 
vines stand six feet apart about the arbor — which 
is a satisfactory distance — one cane three feet long 
may be left on each spur when the pruning is done. 
The shoots which spring from these canes will 
soon cover up the intermediate spaces. At the 
close of the season, this entire cane with its lat- 
erals is cut away at the spur, and another three- 
foot cane — which grew during the season — is left 



Miscellaneous Systems. 89 

in its place. This pruning is essentially that of 
the Kniffin vine in fig. 22. Imagine this vine. 
with as many joints or tiers as necessary, laid upon 
the arbor. The canes are tied out horizontally to 
the slats instead of being tied on wires. This same 
system — running up a long trunk and cutting in to 
side spurs — will apply equally well to tall walls and 
fences which it is desired to cover. Undoubtedly 
a better plan, so far as yield and quality of fruit 
is concerned, is to renew back nearly to the root, 
bringing up a strong new cane, or perhaps two or 
three every vear. and cutting the old ones off; but 
as the vines are desired for shade one does not 
care to wait until midsummer for the vines to reach 
and cover the top of the arbor. 

Remodeling Old lines. — Old and neglected tops 
can rarely be remodeled to advantage. If the vine 
is still vigorous, it will probably pay to grow an en- 
tirely new top by taking out a cane from the root. 
If the old top is cut back severely for a year or 
two, this new cane will make a vigorous growth, 
and it can be treated essentially like a new or 
voting vine. If it is very strong and ripens up 
well, it can be left long enough the first fall to 
make the permanent trunk ; but if it is rather 
weak and soft, it should be cut back in the fall or 
winter to two or three buds, from one of which the 
permanent trunk is to be grown the second season. 
Thereafter, the instructions which are given in the 
preceding pages for the various systems, will apply 



9° American Grape Training, 

to the new vine. The old trunk should be cut 
away as soon as the new one is permanently tied 
to the wires, that is, at the close of either the first 
or second season of the new trunk. Care must be 
exercised to rub off all sprouts which spring from 
the old root or stump. If this stump can be cut 
back into the ground and covered with earth, bet- 
ter results may be expected. Old vines treated in 
this manner often make good plants, but if the 
vines are weak and the soil is poor, the trouble 
will scarcely pay for itself. 

These old vines can be remodeled easily by means 
of grafting. Cut off the trunk five or six inches 
below the surface of the ground, leaving an inch or 
two of straight wood above the roots. Into this 
stub insert two cions exactly as for cleft-grafting 
the apple. Cions of two or three buds, of firm 
wood the side of a lead-pencil, should be inserted. 
The top bud should stand above the ground. The 
cleft will need no tying nor wax, although it is well 
to place a bit of waxed cloth or other material over 
the wound to keep the soil out of it. Fill the earth 
tightly about it. Fig. 37 shows the first year's 
growth from two cions of Niagara set in a Red 
Wyoming root. Great care must be taken in any 
pruning which is done this first year, or the cions 
may be loosened. If the young shoots are tied to 
a stake there will bs less danger from wind and 
careless workmen. In the vine shown in the illus- 
tration, no pruning nor rubbing out was done, 



92 American Grape Training. 

but the vine would have been in better shape for 
training if only one or two shoots had been allowed 
to grow. Such a vine as this can be carried onto 
the trellis next year ; or it may be cut back to three 
or four buds, one of which is allowed to make the 
permanent trunk next year, like a two-year set vine. 
If it is desired, however, to keep the old top, it will 
be best to cut back the annual growth heavily at the 
winter pruning. The amount of wood which shall 
be left must be determined by the vigor of the plant 
and the variety, but three or four canes of six to ten 
buds each may be left at suitable places. During 
the next season a strong shoot from the base of 
each cane may be allowed to grow, which shall form 
the wood of the following season, while all the 
present cane is cut away at the end of the year. 
So the bearing wood is renewed each year, as in the 
regular systems of training. Much skill and ex- 
perience are often required to properly rejuvenate 
an old vine • and in very many cases the vine is not 
worth the trouble. 




Index 



Page 

Adlum, quoted i<j 

Arbor Kniffin 72 

Arbors 88 

Arm, defined 13 

Barns, W. D., quoted 5--, 

Bass bark 33 

Bleeding 22 

Breaking-out 23 

Brocton, Training at 37 

Bull cane • 5°, 66 

Cane, defined 13 

Chautauqua County, Training 1:1 37 

Contraction of wires 30 

Cornell, William T • . 56 

Cornhusks, for tying 33 

Crittenden training 74 

Cross-wire training 74 

Crotch Kniffin 66 

Double Kniffin 66 

Drooping systems 56 

Eight-cane Kniffin 70 

Fan training 54 

Forestville, Training at 37 

Four-cane Kniffin 58 

Fuller, quoted 10, 34 

Girdling 69 

Grafting 9° 

Haviland, Sands 7 2 

Heading-in 23 

High Renewal training 39 

Hofer, A. F 88 

Horizontal Arm training 34 

Horizontal training 83 

Husks, for tying 33 

(93) 



94 Index. 

Page 
Improved Kniffin 66 

Kniffin systems 5§ 

Kniffin training, Comparison of 26 

Kniffin, William t ............ s;6 

Low Kniffin . „ . . „ 69 

Marlboro', Training at 72, 74 

Modified Kniffin 63 

Munson training „ . 78 

Munson, T. V 78 

Objects of pruning 24 

Old vines, Remodeling of 89 

One-wire Kniffin 69 

Overhead Kniffin 72 

Planting 20 

Posts 28 

Post training 85 

Pruning n 

Pruning, Objects of 24 

of young vines 20 

Summer 23 

Time for 22 

Raffia 32 

Raphia Ruffia 32 

Reasons for pruning 24 

Remodeling old vines 89 

Renewal, defined 18 

Renewal Kniffin 77 

Rubbing off 14, 23 

Rye straw for tying 33 

Sagging of wires 30 

Setting 20 

Shoot, denned 13 

Six-cane Kniffin 70 

Spur, defined 17 

Spur training 34 

Staples 29 

Stopping 23 

Stripping 22 

Summer pruning 23 

Superfluous shoots 23 



Index. 95 

Page 

Systems compared 25 

T-head 41 

Thomas' Fruit Culturist, quoted % 10 

Tightening wires 31 

Trellis, Making 27 

True Kniffin 58 

Twine for tying 3 2 

Two-cane Kniffin 66 

Tying 31 

Umbrella training 66 

Upright training 34 

Walls, Training on . 89 

Weeping g 22 

Willows, for tying 32 

Wire, for trellis 28 

" for tying 33 

" weights and sizes 29 

Wool-twine 3 2 

Y-trunk Kniffin 66 

Yeoman's patent trellis 30 

Yields of grapes 14, 63, 69, 70 

Young vines, Pruning of 20 





J 



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pOPULAR ERRORS ABOUT PLANTS.— By A. A. Crozier. A col- 
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